Saving Zero
by Upon a Shooting Star
Summary: "I don't need to be saved." And it was true, at least to Kiryuu Zero, it was. He was beyond salvation, both literally and metaphorically, so why bother needlessly? "Yes, yes you do." But apparently, she thought differently. Kurosu Yuuki wasn't going to give up on him, especially not when he needed her the most. "...because you need to be saved—from yourself."
1. Of Disasters and Yuuki

**Chapter One: Of Disasters and Yuuki**

Zero sighed…then sighed and sighed once more for good measure.

His eyes were stubbornly averted from the spectacular disaster in front of him—and the bright-eyed sheepish look one brunette-haired girl was giving him—mouth set in a firm line. He was leaning against the doorway of what used to be the kitchen, arms crossed, but what now was the mass destruction left by one Kurosu Yuuki.

It was beyond his comprehension how Yuuki always, _always _managed to make the easiest thing the most difficult task known to mankind. Give her a bucket and a mop to clean the floor, and she'd be as wet, if not wetter, than the newly cleaned floor. Ask her to buy something, and she'd come back with anything _but _what was asked of her. Tell her to do something, and in a roundabout sort of way, she'd manage to do exactly the opposite of that.

Of course, most of the things that came from her mouth were beyond him, too.

As was demonstrated by what sounded like a string of gibberish that she was currently sprouting at him, the words running together and entirely too difficult to separate from each other if you weren't listening closely enough. Which he wasn't. Not that it would take a genius to figure out what she wanted.

Zero was pretty sure that his body language was a clear giveaway as to his response, but as the seconds and minutes ticked by, Yuuki still pleading earnestly to him, it became apparent that she simply wasn't getting the message. Or more likely, she fully understood what his response was, but was just steamrolling over him in an attempt to get her way.

He wasn't going to relent. At least, not outwardly.

Yuuki could plead all she wanted until she was blue in the face—not that he was actually trying to encourage this by his standoffish manner, but was unfortunately what she was starting to look like as she forgone breathing for her rapid-fire words—but Zero wasn't going to be swayed…he hoped. Maybe.

And each time it seemed as though she had gained one ounce of common sense and left her clumsiness behind, it came back with a vengeance. As the current situation clearly showed, Yuuki's culinary skills—or lack thereof—were both a danger to herself and those around her, but given the circumstances, it appeared as if the poor kitchen had taken the brunt of her abysmal cooking abilities.

White powder covered every inch of the kitchen, including the little troublemaker herself, running blobs of _something_ were staining the cabinets and a sticky substance, of which Zero had no interest in identifying, were sporting randomly around the room.

"Zero…" Aforementioned little troublemaker wailed, turning her large eyes on the silver-haired boy.

He dared not to glance at her, having already been victim to her puppy-dog look that she was most likely giving him, countless times in the past. But when did he really turn his back on her, ignore her cries for help?

Slowly, reluctantly, his eyes strayed over to her, taking in her lithe form covered head to toe in white, her expressive brown eyes pleading silently with him, and those lips pouting ever-so-slightly.

When finally he could ignore it no longer—and she really was starting to look too pitiful for her own good—he straightened up and grudgingly walked over to where she was, carefully picking his way over a spilled bag of strawberries, the cracked halves of some egg-shells, an unopened container of icing and…was that a _frying_ pan? What the hell did she need a frying pan for?

Wordless, he extended a pale hand and almost startled when her miserable expression changed into one of extreme happiness in the span of a second. Yuuki smiled brightly…but made no move to grasp his hand.

Just when he was about to withdraw his hand, a small warm hand gripped onto his and something strangely like relief swept through him, leaving Zero to feel utterly confused. Being childhood friends, and because she was Yuuki, Zero had had his fair share of contact with Yuuki, whether it was bone-crushing hugs, or the innocent peck on the cheek—that he always treasured but would rather die than admit—but something about this seemed different from the other affectionate touches.

"Don't you read the instructions?" He grumbled as she latched onto his pro-offered hand and pulled herself up, spotting the opened cookbook half-hidden underneath a large up-turned mixing bowl. _Obviously not, _Zero concluded a second later, eyes flickering from Yuuki to the kitchen to the pathetic mess of a chocolate cake flopping miserably on the counter. In fact, he was pretty surprised that she had actually bothered to find a cookbook, which was an improvement in and of itself. Usually, she would have just taken the natural course of action, translation: made things up as she went along.

The kitchen suffered from Yuuki's lack of skills, but Zero was certain that he himself would suffer from the mountainous task of cleaning up the kitchen.

As if to prove his point, the nearly-empty bag of flour on the counter suddenly toppled over, rebounded on his chest and showered him in a cloud of white. Apparently, the bag wasn't quite as empty as he thought it was.

Zero glared.

Yuuki giggled.

And what came out of her mouth made him want to slap a hand against his head.

"Yeah! Now Yuuki and Zero match!" Apparently pleased, she sprang to his side, as if to prove their matching state of floury whiteness.

…as if that was something to be proud of.

* * *

**AN: **I've been a fan of the Zero and Yuuki pairing every since I watched the anime, but just never got around to writing a fanfic. This idea popped up randomly, so I hoped you enjoyed the first chapter, but I do have a plan of where to take this story. For those of you wanting to see more of the angsty relationship that the Zeki couple is so famous for, be reassured that not everything is going to go smoothly for Zero and Yuuki. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Thanks!


	2. Of Knights and Zero

**Chapter Two: Of Knights and Zero**

She had always associated him with the image of a knight—_her _knight—in shining armor, however fantastical that may have been.

And if he ever got wind of her thoughts, it wouldn't be surprising if he dumped her in the nearest mental hospital and beat a hasty retreat back to Cross Academy…although, given that they did go out on night patrols and regularly interacted with the vampires of the Night Class, she wondered about their sanity in the first place.

But being his childhood friend and the only person he willing spent time with on a semi-regular basis, Yuuki often saw a side of him that few others did not.

He was everything true, noble and honest (if blunt to a fault) and Yuuki hated to see that he was slowly, but surely, losing his path amidst the darkness of his past. Although he had never spoken a word to her about his past, and she had been unable to get anything out of the Headmaster, she knew that whatever had happened simply could not be described in words. That it was something too traumatic, too painful for words.

After all, Yuuki herself had seen firsthand the devastated mess that Zero had been in when he had been brought by the Headmaster that one wintry night. It was a deeply buried secret that he had no intention of telling anyone and one which she had no intention of prying out of him.

Nobody could accuse Zero of being friendly, in fact he was anything but, yet he had always managed to acknowledge her in some way, whether it was an insignificant nod or the slight exasperation in his lavender eyes upon seeing her (and yes, she did take pride in this fact for it meant that he had accepted and resigned himself to her constantly being there to annoy him).

Now however…

She sneaked a peak at him as they were walking back to the dorms after prefect duties and bit back a sigh. His cold, handsome face was stony, devoid of any expression, silver locks falling haphazardly in his eyes and bore an aura of bone-tired weariness that made her heart ache. Yuuki took another look at him, brows furrowing in concentration the longer she gazed at him. Under the moonlight, he seemed even more unapproachable, more distant than she had ever seen him. _More alluring, more handsome…_

That was, until the finely chiselled features she had been studying turned towards her, and Yuuki was met with that impassive amethyst look. Zero didn't say anything but his intent was clear and Yuuki found herself having a hard time explaining just why she was scrutinizing him so hard. Put under pressure and with no viable reason for staring at him, Yuuki blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"Have you considered being a model?"

…which of course left something to be desired. Such as the lack of forethought, apparently.

On the bright side, her question at least managed to elicit some sort of a reaction from Zero, even if it was just a slight frown as he no doubt tried to understand her logic.

"I mean…you're…good-looking enough…" Yuuki trailed off sheepishly, turning her head to avoid his piercing lavender eyes. "That's-what-the-other-girls-keep-saying-so-it's-p robably-true-not-that-I-think-you're-ugly-or-anyth ing."

Then, unbidden, a small smirk appeared on Zero's face, one that Yuuki did not see as she averted her eyes to the ground in embarrassment after her latest rapid-fire ramble.

"And you." His soft voice broke through her mortification, but by the time she raised her head Zero had already disappeared down the path, as quiet as the night.

"Hey Zero! Wait for me!"

As she scrambled to hurry after him, Yuuki was left to wonder exactly what his cryptic words meant.

* * *

"Take the derivative of x and…are you listening?"

Having been caught staring at him again—_twice _in the one day—without a good reason, Yuuki gaped stupidly at Zero before blushing furiously. The pencil she had been tapping against her chin rolled away with a clatter, further adding to her embarrassment.

It really wasn't her day today, or her week, come to think of it. She still hadn't forgotten the horrible mess that she had made in the kitchen while attempting to bake a cake…and she was willing to bet that Zero hadn't either, after she had roped him in with the clean-up. Then she had failed a math test (that the teacher had been more than happy to let the rest of the class know), which had resulted in her running to Zero for help and hence the current studying session.

And now to have been caught staring at him like some spacey love-sick schoolgirl—

"I don't like you!"

"…"

His eyebrow rose.

Well, there she went again, making a complete and utter fool of herself.

"I mean, I like you. Not in the like _like _way, just—"

_Just not yet. _

Slumping forward dejectedly, Yuuki idly wondered if she could knock herself unconscious by banging her head against the desk, but deciding against it as she as more likely to hurt herself than actually succeed.

Then realising it was a bit rude of her—actually, a _lot _rude of her—to slouch on the desk and interrupt their study session when it was Zero who had taken the time to help her, Yuuki suddenly sprang up again, much like a jack-in-the-box.

The problem with springing up without warning, as Yuuki found out, was that she didn't take into consideration the environment around her, namely the fact that Zero had come to investigate what was wrong with his ditz of a prefect.

"Ouch!" Yuuki cried, feeling the top of her head meet with a hard, unyielding object before collapsing back onto the desk, jarring her chin against the wooden surface. Maybe she would have to reconsider the idea of knocking herself out on the desk. "Ouchie…"

Said hard, unyielding objected also grunted in pain and Yuuki twisted slowly to see a grimace on Zero's face. Apparently, he had gotten up from his chair and had been hovering over her when she did her jack-in-the-box performance. She gave a weak smile in response to his glare, his pale hand rubbing the abused area on his chest.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to…you know…spring up so suddenly. Are you okay?"

"Idiot," Zero muttered, but Yuuki could hear the affection in his tone as he returned to his seat.

She felt her smile grow wider upon seeing the slight twitch of his lips, almost as if Zero wanted to laugh but was restraining himself. Yuuki watched with unabashed pride as the twitch turned into a smirk and his whole face relaxed, replacing the stony indifference with something infinitely warmer.

On second thought, today hadn't been so bad after all.

Not if she had managed to make Zero smile.

* * *

**AN: **Thank you to all the reviews, favourites and follows of this story- they really motivated me to write this chapter that bit faster! Are either Zero or Yuuki OOC? I try to write them in character, but if you think they're acting/thinking in a weird way, please let me know so I can fix that.


	3. Of wake-up calls and facing reality

**Chapter Three: Of Wake-up Calls and Facing Reality**

Zero was sleeping.

_Wobble. _

At least, that was what he was trying to do. And having a very, very hard time doing so.

_Wobble. Wobble._

He was tired. He needed to rest. Being student, a _prefect_, by day and guardian by night did that to you. He had—grudgingly—accepted that fact long ago and learnt to go on with life around this huge inconvenience. But that certainly did not mean he had completely given up on the idea of sleeping. In fact, his insistence on catching up on lost sleep regardless of the circumstances, probably accounted for most, if not all detentions he received at the academy.

Usually, sleeping would not have been such a difficult feat to accomplish if it was not for the all shaking he was currently experiencing…and no, he wasn't feeling cold at all.

There was only one person who dared to go into his room (idiotic Headmaster aside) and had the nerve to actually annoy him without fear of repercussions. Or without too much repercussions, anyway.

_Wobble. Wobble. Wobble._

"Go. Away." Zero growled, fighting the urge to bury his head under the pillow. He had actually considered doing so before his sleep-laden brain had cleared enough for him to realise that it would only add to his torment. Feeling the whole bed shake was bad enough without having his head sandwiched between the mattress and the pillow as the bed did the _shaking_.

The bed shook harder in response.

"Time to wake up, Zero! Wakey wakey," A annoying voice sang, entirely too loud for his half-awake mind to bear and completely off tune.

_Chirp. Chirp._

His right eye twitched.

As if having an obviously crazy person trying her hardest to wake up him wasn't enough, now even the damned birds had decided to make his life miserable. He'd happily (well, as happily as Kiryuu Zero could be) Bloody Rose the chirping balls of fluff into nothing, and see if they could utter a single tweet then.

That thought was very satisfying, very satisfying indeed. Pity he couldn't do the same with the other source of problem disturbing his morning sleep.

He cracked open a single eye, instantly narrowing down on the perpetrator…who was quite happily bouncing up and down at the end of his bed without a care in the world. It really was unfortunate that his prized gun only worked on vampires, as he couldn't very well shoot the brown-haired terror currently using his bed as a trampoline.

"Zero, you're awake!" Yuuki cheered loudly, a large smile on her face as she did a bounce that was absolutely bone-jarring and the final straw for the now fully-awake Zero. The real question was who could stay asleep after her oh-so-subtle wake up call?

"Stop." Even before the word left his lips, the silver-haired boy had flipped the covers off him and then proceeded to stop Yuuki in the only way he knew how. Words wouldn't work on Yuuki; logic would be wasted on her extremely illogical mind—which left force as the only option.

In a flash, he had pushed her down on the bed and was kneeling over her surprised form, hands planted firmly on her shoulders.

"What do you want?" Zero demanded, narrowing his eyes in extreme displeasure at waking up in such a way. Wide brown eyes blinked up at him dazedly, and he was suddenly aware of their proximity, how close their faces were, how close their lips—

"…"

Forcibly squashing that thought down, and blaming his half-asleep brain (although he was very much awake) Zero released Yuuki's shoulders and moved to a safe distance away, settling against the wooden headboard. The bug-eyed look on Yuuki's face didn't suit her at all. Not that he was looking. Not at all.

Seconds passed, then a minute, five minutes. Yet Yuuki still hadn't spoken a single word, hadn't moved an inch from where she had been unceremoniously shoved down on his bed.

Starting to lose patience—and just that tiny bit worried he had hurt her—Zero exhaled softly, rubbing his neck awkwardly. He had never been very good at expressing his feelings, nevermind showing concern for someone else. He had always believed that his actions spoke louder than words, but when his words were required…it was a completely different matter.

In fact, that was her forte. Even as a child, Yuuki had been so naturally kind and caring, but naïve to a fault and that had proved to be the proverbial flame that had entranced him so, the proverbial moth that had been uncharacteristically broken and withdrawn.

Instead of burning him, instead of utterly destroying him, Yuuki's fire and her love of life had done the complete opposite to his shattered, hate-driven self. She had cooled him down, cooled down his feelings of rage and revenge and through her appreciation of life, he had also began to appreciate the finer details of being alive. She had mended him, and in the process, had given him a part of herself that he had immediately grasped onto, desperately clung to. Because to let go, to reject Yuuki, it would mean to renounce everything she stood for and he wasn't ready to let go yet—wasn't ready to let _Yuuki_ go.

"I'm fine, Zero. See?"

And god forbid, she sprang up just like what she had done in last night's study session, managing once again to wreck havoc on her poor companion.

Startled out of his thoughts, Zero did a very un-Zero like gesture…and found himself falling flat on his ass. At least the mattress was soft. No harm done. _Physically. _Mentally, however was another story, as he tried to recall just how he managed to get in a position to fall on his ass when he had remembered resting against the headboard a moment ago. Some time during his thoughts, he must have moved closer to Yuuki and leaned over her to see if she was really alright.

Now, lying flat on his back and staring up at the ceiling, the irony of the situation elicited a snort from the silver-haired boy. Try as he might, Zero couldn't contain the tiny smirk from playing across his lips as a field of brown entered his vision. There was just something about being flat on your back that made you change your perspective, he supposed.

A small, delicate hand reached down and hovered uncertainly before reaching his face, as if afraid he'd swat her hand away like an annoying fly. Worried brown eyes locked with his. "Are you okay? You aren't hurt, are you?"

Deciding that petty revenge wasn't in his nature and would be very much out of character for him, Zero ignored the niggling impulse to shoot up, giving Yuuki a taste of her own medicine from the two springing acts she had unwittingly performed on him. Judging from her lack of coordination, it would be more than likely that Yuuki would end up falling backwards—and she needed all the braincells she had, after all.

That and her being sprawled out on his bed for a second time really wasn't going to help matters at all.

Scoffing, both as a response to her questions and his own thoughts, Zero reached up and wrapped his fingers around her wrist, putting an end to the hovering hand that was starting to make him go cross-eyed.

"I'll pull you up, Zero, just wait!" Before he had a chance to protest at how stupid an idea it was for her, skinny little Yuuki to pull him up, Zero felt her fingers grip his and with a surprising amount of force, actually managed to pull him up a bit.

Emphasis, only a bit.

She was straining herself, Zero could tell but he was in an awkward position and couldn't help her. With a muffled cry of surprise, Yuuki lost her battle with gravity and came crashing down. On. Zero.

"Ouchie!"

"What do you mean, ouchie? _You _landed on _me_," Zero grouched, wondering how much abuse his body could take. By all accounts, it wasn't even twenty-four ago when she had hit his chest after her jack-in-the-box performance and now she decided to drop herself on him? Wonderful.

He'd be sure to have matching bruises by now.

He then nearly kicked himself. Ouchie? _Ouchie? _Really, what was wrong with him? He was starting to sound like Yuuki which was not a good thing at all, definitely not a good thing. One thing would lead to another and before he knew it, he would start 'kyah, kyahing' like those mindless fangirls of the Night Class too.

Yuuki's warmth pressed ontop of him was hard to ignore and so was something else. A shiver ran through him and Zero blamed it on the mental image of himself fangirling (or was it fanboying?) over the Night Class, stupidly screeching 'kyah, kyah' after them.

"Exactly!" Her brown head popped up. "Your chest is like a rock or something; not soft at all." Yuuki huffed out a breath, which stirred Zero's silverly locks as testament to how close they were. Again. "I mean, if it was more flabby, but then it would be gross—"

"Off. Now." Zero demanded, looking anywhere but at Yuuki. Seriously, did the girl have no sense of modesty whatsoever? In fact, scratch that. Did she have no sense whatsoever? Lying on top of him, wearing nothing but the girl's uniform with the ridiculously short skirt, when Zero himself only had a thin t-shirt and shorts? And she was content to discuss the feel of his chest?

…wait. That didn't sound right. At all.

That was it. Zero had enough of Yuuki invading his privacy. Ignoring her outraged expression and whines, he pushed her off the bed and then proceeded to drag her out of his bedroom.

"Hey, let—"

Frowning at her loud voice, he didn't think she understood the meaning of 'indoor voice' or better yet 'you're in a guy's room in the early hours of morning and should stay quiet' voice, Zero slapped a hand to her mouth, effectively cutting Yuuki's words off.

"Mmph! Mmmphet mp pho!"

He assumed that was her saying to let go of her, but didn't care either way. He certainly was not letting her go and announce to the world, or rather, the boys' dorm, that she was in his room. God knew what the hormonic idiots here would think of Yuuki after this.

"Mmthe scumn's buoomptiful—"

His hand slipped slightly when he opened the door and the jumbled sounds she'd been mumbling finally made sense.

"—so let's go see the sunrise!"

"…Fine. I'll meet you down there." He was not relenting, Zero firmly told himself as he slammed the door in her excited face, ignoring the way her eyes sparkled and how that smile spread across her face.

There was no point in trying to go back to sleep now that he was fully awake, and he didn't particularly feel like staying in his room until class started, so without anything to do, he might as well go with her.

But Zero couldn't deny that he hadn't even attempted to refuse Yuuki, hadn't protested at all to her suggestion. Pulling open his drawer with more force than was strictly necessary, Zero took out his school shirt and stared blankly at it for a moment. Even worse, he hadn't really wanted to say no, to see the disappointed look on her face his words surely would have caused.

And the sad fact was that she had him wrapped firmly around her little finger without even realising it.

* * *

He shouldn't have been so surprised. He really shouldn't have been.

But he was. And he hated that—hated how she held such power over him that to see _him _with her filled Zero with such unexplainable feelings of resentment and desolation.

In the distance, a petite brunette was talking with a dark-haired male, a light blush adorning her cheeks while the latter of the two wore a patient expression. Bits of their conversation drifted in the early morning quietness to the silver-haired boy frozen by the doom entrance, pale hands slowly fisting.

"…so I was thinking to see the sunrise. Would you like to come too, Kaname-senpai? The view would be lovely," Yuuki was saying, tucking a lock of her brown hair behind her ear.

Zero could hear the eagerness in her voice and felt disgust wash over him. Why she would willingly spend time with that vampire was beyond him. She was pure. Yuuki, like her name suggested was as pure and untainted as the fresh snow atop mountains but _he _was not. He was everything cold-blooded and cruel, immersed in a world of evil.

He was Kuran Kaname, a Pureblood vampire and shared a bond with Yuuki that Kiryuu Zero could never hope to break, nor understand.

But if Zero was being completely honest (and he didn't see the point in trying to deceive himself any longer), as much as he despised Kuran's interest in Yuuki, it meant that if anything—_should_ anything happen to him, at least then Yuuki would have another source of protection.

Because he was…

Kaname said something in reply, too low for Zero to hear but Yuuki's visible deflation was more than answer enough. Pasting a smile on her face, Yuuki waved goodbye as the vampire continued down the path and looked slightly confused—but so very hopeful—when Kaname turned back.

"You'd better hurry, Yuuki. The sun will rise soon." Kaname's eyes drifted past Yuuki's form and landed on a pair of narrowed lavender. "You and Kiryuu-kun," he added before resuming his walk.

Surprised, Yuuki swivelled around to see Zero standing in the doorway of the boys' dorm, glaring heatedly at her.

He turned his head away sharply, jaw clenching at how she had extended the invitation to the vampire so readily. Was spending time—the precious little time he had left—with him so inconsequential, so easily forgotten?

Was _he _so unimportant to her?

Uncertainly, but still with a smile on her face, Yuuki bounded over to where he was and beamed up at him. "You're ready? Kaname-senpai said we should—"

_Kaname. Kaname. Always Kaname._

"Forget it," he brushed her off coldly and stalked away.

It would always be Kuran Kaname first and foremost in her heart…so where did that leave Zero?

* * *

**AN: **Merry Christmas everyone, hope you all have a good holiday! Thanks once again to all your support - it really makes me happy that you guys have taken the time to read and review this story. Thanks also to AnimeCookie93 for your kind reviews and for pointing out my mistake in chapter two. And now I've gone and introduced Kaname into the mix...the only thing I can say without spoiling too much is that Yuuki in this story isn't as fanatically devoted to Kaname as she is in the anime. But you'll find out why later.

Please enjoy this chapter and let me know if anything doesn't seem right to you!


	4. Of Normalcy and Crying Koala-bears

**Chapter Four: Of Normalcy and Crying Koala-bears**

There was no mistaking it.

She had done something to completely and utterly piss him off. _Again. _

Which wasn't that unusual as Yuuki had the unfortunate tendency to aggravate Zero on a daily basis and sometimes even multiple times, depending on how bad of a mood Zero was in or just how exasperating Yuuki was. She had been ignored, glared at, snapped at and even riled up (which was likely his own method of giving her a taste of her own medicine). But this time, there was something very different about his cold treatment of her—and Yuuki had been on the receiving end of his moods enough to realise that this wasn't his normal behaviour.

It wasn't the indifferent look in his eyes, almost as if he was seeing through her; or how he levelled her with intense stares of varying degrees of emotion or even how he seemed to be pushing her away, purposefully keeping his distance from her.

It was the tortured, anguished look in his lavender eyes that had appeared of late when they were out on patrol, especially so when they had to rescue unwitting Day Class students from one or more of the unruly Night Class. It hadn't escaped Yuuki's notice either that Zero had become more and more uncomfortable around her and…seemed almost wary of her.

Which was completely ridiculous. If anything, she should have been the one apprehensive of him, not the other way around. After all, most of the time Yuuki wasn't even aware of what she had said or done to set him off or which buttons she had unwittingly pushed to annoy him so. Besides, Yuuki was pretty sure that Zero had never been uncomfortable or wary of her in the years they had known each other (although she couldn't exactly say the same thing about herself). So why the sudden change of personality?

It had always just been them; the two of them patrolling the grounds of the academy every night, spending long tedious, hours observing the Night Class or standing guard outside the entrance of the dorms, for any wayward girl (or boy) to sneak out. With the amount of time that they spent together, either on patrol duty, as prefects or under the insistence of the Headmaster for so-called 'family' gatherings and similarly odd events throughout the year, it wasn't too surprising that they were somewhat familiar with each other, have some level of understanding and form some sort of a relationship. Yes, the relationship was there—if just barely, but sometimes it was just really hard to determine whether Zero considered her a friend or merely tolerated her because he had to. The understanding part however…

Yet he still remained as mysterious as he had been when he first entered her life, if not more so.

The pain in his lavender eyes and general unhappiness at patrolling—at being around _her_—greatly worried Yuuki because she had never seen Zero like this. Sure, being intense, serious and angry was almost a given when dealing with Zero, but never at this level. She was afraid he'd break under the pressure, or be swallowed up by the darkness that was consuming his thoughts.

Over the last few days, Yuuki had a lot of time to think.

She thought during class (not that her teachers particularly appreciated her unresponsiveness), pondered when she was patrolling with a silent Zero (after all, there wasn't much you could do with someone who refused to speak with you) and was especially deep in thought when she really should have been getting the miniscule amount of sleep after patrolling all night.

And came up with the conclusion that he just wanted to be normal.

Be a normal high school teenager unconcerned with the true dangers of the world and bearing the burden of protecting humans from vampires each night, every night. Just because his family had been attacked by a pureblood vampire was no reason to drag Zero back into the complications of the vampire world, in fact, if she was Zero, then she'd want to have nothing to do with the very creatures that had murdered his family in front of his eyes either.

Had anyone cared what he thought? Had the Headmaster even asked if he wanted to deal with vampires after what had happened to his family?

After all, he had just been dumped into the role of fellow guardian and prefect without even being given a choice, or the chance to say no. And there was nothing worse than having a constant reminder slapping him in the face each day of how his family had died.

No wonder he was so angsty.

But Yuuki really wished that her silver-haired friend—because despite what he may think, Zero had always been her friend—would just spit it out. If something was bothering him, and Yuuki shuddered to think what could cause the normally stoic Zero to act so out of sorts, then she would try her best to cheer up him; if she had done or said something to upset him, then she would gladly apologise; if he was angry at her then she was willing to placate him…but she could only do something if he let her _know _what was wrong.

Yuuki was tired of being in the dark; so if he wouldn't make the first move, then she would.

Really, what was it about Zero that made her care so much? It wasn't just because he was her childhood friend, a constant companion, or a fellow prefect and guardian, although they did factor into it. But the main reason, and the most important one of them all, was simply because he was Zero. Not any of the above, but simply Zero. A boy who had appeared in front of her with the most haunted and devastated pair of amethyst eyes she had ever seen, who had suffered through so much and who had all but given up.

Even at that young age, she had wanted to heal him, to be the one to finally make him smile, to let him know that he was going to be okay, that she would be by his side and would never leave him. It wasn't pity which motivated her to help him, to patiently stay with him even as he rudely rebuffed her over and over again—she had lost count of how many times she had been unceremoniously shoved out of his room, the door slamming abruptly behind her. To Yuuki, she couldn't bear the thought of anyone suffering so much as she had seen Zero was, despite how he hid his agony. If she could help him even a little bit, to alleviate that bone-crushing pain just a tiny bit, then she would do it.

She couldn't sit there and do nothing, it wasn't in her nature to turn a blind eye to someone who was so obviously suffering and needed a friend more than anything. So Yuuki had self-appointed herself as Zero's friend (whether he wanted it or not) and given herself the task of healing the broken boy, to give him a reason to continue living. And in the process, she had unwittingly made him the center of her world.

Her eleven-year old self had tried everything and anything to cajole a smile, or even a smirk from his thin lips, had more than outdone herself on the silly and outrageous things to cheer him up and had watched, silently studied and analysed Zero more closely than anyone in her life, even Kaname. In fact, she had been ashamed to admit that during the first few months of Zero living with the Headmaster and her, she rarely thought of Kaname as she had been so focused on Zero. Even when Kaname had taken the time to drop in and visit her, Yuuki had been too preoccupied with worrying about Zero—as he had taken a particular dislike of Kaname—to fully appreciate or enjoy Kaname's attention.

In true Zero style, he had once self-depreciatingly told her that it wasn't worth it, that _he _wasn't worth it. But Yuuki begged to differ. Sure, he had his emotional baggage, more so than the average person, and his personality left something (a _lot_) to be desired…but it all came down to the undeniable fact that he was Kiryuu Zero. And he was worth it.

Because deep down, past rational thought and everything logical, pure instinct was telling her that he was worth all the trouble, tears, heartache it would take to reveal his truth self—not the outer shell he hid underneath—but his true inner self buried beneath all that grief, hatred and anguish.

It was also because he was someone so much more than that. Zero had an irrevocable hold on her heart and she would do anything to keep him safe and happy, to do everything within her power to keep their fragile bond from breaking, from dissolving into nothing.

Her resolve strengthened, Yuuki raised her hand and knocked firmly against Zero's door.

Her life, her memories may have began with Kuran Kaname when he rescued her that one winter's night, but once Kiryuu Zero managed to shove his way into her life—because he was nothing if not forceful—Yuuki's thoughts and feelings had been focused entirely on him.

_Whatever it takes…because he's Zero. _

* * *

Zero stared incredulously at the wailing blonde girl before him, at a complete loss how to deal with the blubbering idiot on the floor.

This…was a new experience. His list of extra-circular activities was just getting longer and longer by the day, and now it apparently also included how to deal with break-ups. Not his own, of course—because how can you end something that had never started in the first place?—but that of a random girl blocking the path to the boys' dorm.

"And he broke up with me! WAH!" A fountain's worth of tears suddenly spilled from the girl's eyes as she howled louder.

He cared because…?

Actually, maybe he did need to care that this idiot of a girl was bawling her eyes out in front of him. It would just be his luck for some teacher to come by him and accuse him of making a girl cry. His lips thinned in displeasure.

It seemed that there was no end to the stupidity of some people, or more notably the stupidity of teenage girls supposedly in love. He was a total stranger (although he probably was infamous throughout the academy for being the snappish, grouchy prefect who took pleasure in scaring off fangirls of the Night Class), and yet this girl felt the need to blab her woes to him?

Having neither the impatience nor the interest in hearing the girl's sordid details, Zero made to walk past the still sobbing girl. Only to be stopped by a pair of arms latching itself onto his legs. Great. Now he had a koala-bear hugging his legs. Albeit a not-so-cute, tear-stained and bawling sad excuse of a koala-bear.

Gritting his teeth, he wondered if _accidentally_ knocking out the girl would do her any permanent damage. Probably not. She already seemed pretty damaged as it was, but then it wasn't too nice to kick someone when they were down. Literally. Not that Kiryuu Zero did nice.

No amount of shaking could dislodge the girl's arms, and it looked like she was holding onto him with all her strength, which surprisingly, was actually quite a lot. Huffing in annoyance, Zero had no choice but to bend down and pry her hands off. Unfortunately, he hadn't realised his action of bending down would seem like an invitation for the agitated girl to leap into his arms…nor the fact that his center of balance had already shifted when he reached down, so with the element of surprise and sudden weight against him, Zero promptly lost his balance and sprawled ungracefully on the ground, the girl ontop of him.

Which would then be the perfect time for Yuuki to walk out the boys' dorm, eyes widening almost comically at the scene in front of her, of course.

The silence was awkward, to say the least. Yuuki stared at Zero, Zero stared back at Yuuki and then they all stared at the crying girl, who was too busy sniffling to notice their looks.

Until it was oh-so-quietly broken.

"Gah! I'll teach him to break up with me! Just you wait, RAITOU!" Koala-bear now turned enraged girl screeched (right in his ear, might he add) and then clambered off Zero, stomping her way into the dorm, leaving behind a gaping Yuuki and bewildered Zero. And all without a word of thanks to Zero for being her human cushion.

"I was just…going…" His attention was drawn back to Yuuki as she trailed off, trying but failing to explain her presence at the boys' dorm. Well, there was only one reason why she would go to the boys' dorm. At least, he hoped so.

Deciding that he didn't like to be looked down upon, Zero gingerly got up, grimacing slightly at the sharp shoot of pain that action caused. Apparently koala-bear girl was more bear than koala, if his aching back was any indication. He was fully intent on leaving her as he absolutely had nothing to say to her—but had so many things he _wanted_ to say—when Yuuki seemed to sense what he was about to do and made a grab for his hand.

Koala tree indeed. What was with these crazy girls and wanting to latch onto him? The concept of personal space was obviously lost on them, and even moreso on the current girl standing before him, small hands latched onto his. Brown eyes gazed steadily up at him and he was mildly surprised at the determined look on her face.

"Can we talk?"

Guarded lavender eyes returned her firm look as he examined her. This wasn't the Yuuki he knew, she was being uncharacteristically serious and there was no trace of the bubbly girl or her silly personality that he had been accustomed to. Nor had she asked what he had been doing with that crying girl in an obviously compromising position. He wasn't quite sure how long they stood there for, as he silently studied her and she never wavered under his intense stare.

After a moment, he sighed and moved off the path towards the surrounding trees. If nothing else, the shrubbery offered some pretense of privacy and would be away from any prying eyes should anyone in the dorm happen to look out their window.

Leaning against a tree, silvery hair falling into his eyes, he was the perfect picture of calm as he waited for Yuuki to catch up. Though in hindsight, he wished he had been seated.

After all, she was nothing if not exceptionally skilled at turning his world upside down.

* * *

**AN:**I apologise for this really, _really _late update; I've been getting sidetracked with watching other anime, not to mention my muse has gone wandering… So, in this chapter, there's not much going on for interaction between Zero and Yuuki but I feel it's necessary to understand how Yuuki feels and why she feels that way before dropping the bombshell on Zero. Lately, I've been listening to the VK opening song (**Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi or Two Pulses and Red Sins)** when I'm writing each chapter, and I've found it actually helps me to set the mood for the story. The song is really catchy, so check it out if you have time!

And if you didn't catch the reference to what the crying girl screamed, 'Raitou!', it's actually Yagami Light's name from Death Note.

As always, please leave a review and let me know how this story's going.


	5. Of Insecurities and Rejections

**Chapter Five: Of Insecurities and Rejections**

At first, Yuuki didn't say anything and only stared at him as if she could find the answer to everything if only she looked hard enough at him. He had the funny feeling that she was trying to gauge his current mood, to see if what she was going to say would completely tip him off the metaphorical cliff…which meant that whatever she had to say, it was serious. So serious actually, that she had to _think _before she spoke.

He wasn't sure what she would find in his carefully blank expression as he himself was having a hard time determining what he felt. Initial surprise at her sudden request had turned to perplexity, which had then changed into a feeling of unease mixed with resignation. Just as quickly, self-loathing had washed over him at Yuuki's unnatural seriousness—she wasn't meant to be so solemn, so burdened with his troubles that it had affected her carefree nature.

Blinking through strands of his silvery locks, Zero refused to be drawn into a staring match with the petite brunette, even as he was starting to feel unnerved by her close scrutiny. If she was hoping that the silence might get to him and that he would be the first to speak, then she had completely misjudged him. He wasn't going to speak or to encourage her in thinking that he was anxious to start the conversation _she_ wanted to have.

"Lately the Day Class has been on pretty good behaviour, don't you think?"

His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he analysed Yuuki, lips pulling down into a frown. To say he was confused was an understatement. Her words were both puzzling and random, which weren't particularly unusual seeing as it was _Yuuki_, but Zero failed to see how that was of any interest to him.

Was that why she was so serious? Because she wanted to discuss the behaviour of the Day Class with him? Sure, having no screeching fangirls in his ear during class changeovers for the Night Class would be a good thing, not to mention that he wasn't particularly fond of going deaf before he even graduated high school. And it would probably make their job easier…but it wasn't something that they had power over. It also depended on what her definition of 'pretty good behaviour' was, seeing as they had caught a few female students just last night trying to sneak into the Moon dorms for whatever ridiculous reason.

"And Kaname-senpai has kept the Night Class in order, hasn't he?" Yuuki continued, completely oblivious to his suddenly tense frame and gritted teeth. It seemed like she wasn't expecting Zero to answer, even thought she had worded the sentence into a question.

_Everything just comes back to Kuran, doesn't it, _Zero thought hearing the pureblood's name—especially from Yuuki's lips—sent a wave of frustration through the silver-haired boy. He still hadn't forgotten the incident almost a week ago, when Yuuki had barged into his room to wake up him to see the sunrise, and after making a complete nuisance of herself, had only turned around and issued Kuran with the same invitation…subsequently forgetting Zero in the process. After being turned down by Kuran, she had bounced back to Zero like he was her second option, when he had been asked _first_.

"So I was thinking that I could probably manage the night patrols by myself if you…wanted to…do something else."

Zero froze, every muscle painfully rigid as he registered what Yuuki had said. _She didn't want him anymore. She was finally tired of his company—of him—and wanted to wash her hands of him. _

One part of him was telling himself that Yuuki would never do that, that she would never leave him—it wasn't in her nature to do so, especially to him. The other part, the more bitter and unforgiving part, told him that she was well within her right to give up on him…after all, hadn't he already given up himself?

But both parts of him wanted to crawl somewhere undisturbed and drown in the bottomless misery because regardless of her reasons, Yuuki had actually verbalised her thoughts, making this something more than a passing thought or whim. She had to have considered the consequences of her words…and it was glaringly obvious what she wanted.

_To be rid of him. _

The world shifted, tilted on its side and then came crashing down on him.

Yuuki abruptly stopped as she stared into furious lavender eyes, his pale fingers digging painfully into her skin where he had gripped her wrist.

He wasn't even aware that he had moved, or had such a tight hold on Yuuki, but as he glared into her bewildered brown eyes, Zero could feel his carefully composed mask slowly cracking, falling piece by piece to reveal his pain, anguish and anger. He was so very vulnerable before her, before this little slip of a brunette who could easily break him with a single word and just as easily save him with her beautiful smile. She mattered, mattered more than she could ever know and more than he could ever express—and it was because she mattered _so_ much that her every word was a vicious stab and twist into his already broken and barely-healed heart.

And right now, she was breaking him.

"Why?" He hissed, voice tight with something akin to betrayal.

Her mouth parted open in surprise at his vehemence. "Z-Zero? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Concern was immediately in those wide brown eyes of hers, transforming the confusion into a look of distress at his sudden fury. "Please tell me what's wrong, Zero," Yuuki pleaded, and bit her lip when the silver-haired boy failed to respond. The tightening of his fingers on her wrist was her only response as icy lavender bore into her own eyes. Unrestrained tension and anger was vibrating through his iron grip hold on her wrist, but the brunette made no move to remove her hand.

He clenched his jaw as barely suppressed bitterness swept through him. Actions spoke louder than words and her refusal to answer his question clearly indicated that what she did not want to put into words was indeed very damning. His lips curled. He had it backwards. Zero shouldn't be asking himself why Yuuki would turn her back on him, a better question should be why _wouldn't_ she? In fact, she should have given up on him the first time she set eyes on him, as how could someone like him—so broken, full of hatred and bitterness—be worthy of someone like Yuuki's attention?

His hand slowly fisted, nails digging hard into his palm. No. There was someone else that was worthy of Yuuki's attention, despite his abhorrence towards the man and his race. Someone who was perfect in every sense of the word, who was superior and rare even among his own. Someone who wasn't slowly turning into the monster he hated the most because he _was _that monster.

Someone like…

Kuran Kaname.

"Just tell me!" Zero snarled, whatever thread of control he had left snapping violently. The pureblood brought out the worst in him, especially where a certain petite brunette was concerned. Raging emotions battled behind his icy exterior, a swirl of feelings that blurred past him relentlessly but his lavender eyes never betrayed his internal struggles, instead locking coldly onto brown.

—_why you always, _always_ choose him over me?_

Yuuki shrank back in shock. Her eyes refused to meet his, lower lip trembling.

"I-I thought you were unhappy with me…patrolling each night…I d-don't want to see you…so pained…You should have a…n-normal life…" Yuuki's voice was wavering as she stuttered out her reason, eyes lowered to the ground.

His thoughts came to a crashing halt, rebounded against each in the resulting turmoil after hearing her words and left him feeling utterly lost.

All this time, she was worried about him? He couldn't deny the overwhelming relief that settled over him at Yuuki's words, the earlier—misplaced and completely unwarranted—anger and hurt draining out of him, replaced by a sense of peace and calm. Suddenly aware that he still had a painful hold Yuuki's wrist, Zero loosened his grip, absently rubbing at the redness in silent apology.

And then, in a barely audible tone, she had whispered the three words that nearly broke his heart.

"…away from me…" A tear gathered, wobbled and then rolled down her cheek, swiftly followed by another and another. She was sniffling miserably, and hesitantly, his thumb came up to wipe away the salty tracks on her face. It appeared that her tears weren't the only thing in a rush to come out. "…if it wasn't for me—if I wasn't so _weak_, then I-I wouldn't need to be protected so much! You always have to...to rescue me! If I was stronger…more useful…you wouldn't have to—" Yuuki hung her head, a veil of shining brown hair covering her face. "…all because of me."

He hated how small her voice sounded, how insecure and self-depreciating her last words had been. She was the same old selfless Kurosu Yuuki, thinking of others and putting their needs before her own safety. Yuuki was also the strongest, bravest and kindest person he had ever met…so how did she get it into her head that she was weak and useless? Didn't she know that he protected her because he wanted to, not because he had to?

Zero exhaled softly, slumping against the tree as he tilted his head up, looking through the forage of leaves above him. He had never been good with words, at expressing his thoughts or how he felt—it had always been Yuuki who talked enough for the both of them and seemed to know what he wanted to say but couldn't. And sometimes, she seemed to know exactly what he _wasn't _trying to say.

She was surprisingly quite perceptive when she wanted to be, he mused dryly. Many responses came to mind at her outburst, but were almost immediately discarded. In the end, he settled for the indirect route, hoping that she would understand what he was truly saying.

"What about yourself?"

"What do you mean?" It was painfully clear that she hadn't considered her own safety in all this, that Yuuki had solely been thinking of him, with complete disregard as to how it would adversely affect herself. He supposed that it had always been his role, to be the silent, sensible voice of reason when pointing out the flaws in some of her rather bizarre and not very logical plans, to keep her grounded and in touch with that annoying thing known as common sense—of which she had a rather unfortunate deficit in.

"There are more vampires than you, Yuuki. And they certainly won't hesitate or reason with you to get what they want." He didn't bother finishing the sentence, letting Yuuki imagine what would happen if she was alone where she needed help, but none would come. He was rambling, Zero realised. Usually he wouldn't waste so many words to get his point across.

Unbeknownst to Zero, his features had relaxed into a softer and somewhat tender expression—one that a certain brunette didn't miss. Tearful brown eyes blinked slowly, before Yuuki rubbed her eyes roughly, the cheer returning to her as she realised that Zero was no longer angry with her. She wasn't stupid, she had been around him long enough to know that this was his way of expressing concern for her, slightly roundabout but completely Zero-style. It just required someone to read in between the lines, of which she had become quite adept at.

"Oh…I guess I'll just have to train more!" Her natural resilience shining through, Yuuki gave him a reassuring smile...which wasn't all that comforting to Zero, seeing as she had completely missed his point.

"No." He said, pushing off from the tree and started to walk back to the dorms.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Yuuki hurried to keep up with his long strides, pouting slightly when she received no response. "Zero!"

Said boy paused and glanced sideways at her.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Yuuki repeated, looking up to meet his lavender gaze.

"I-I…it's not you. I'm not…I don't—" Frustrated with himself, Zero turned away sharply, a frown marring his coldly handsome features. "Come on, it's almost time for patrolling." Without giving her a chance to reply, he stalked off, each step long and fluid, an innate grace that quickly ate up the distance towards the boys' dorm.

"But, you should take a rest—" Yuuki scrambled after Zero and nearly crashed into his back as he stopped abruptly.

"Stop worrying, it's fine." Lavender eyes briefly closed before he murmured, "_I'm _fine."

Yuuki knew when to push Zero, and when not to push him over the metaphorical cliff, but right now, observing his rigid shoulders, clenched fists and clear irritation in his voice, she decided to leave the issue for later. If she tried to press the issue when he was already in an uncooperative mood, Yuuki knew that being the stubbornly obstinate person he was, Zero was going to simply dig his heels in further and completely rebuff her. But that didn't mean she wouldn't push him if she felt it was absolutely necessary.

Allowing a genuine smile to spread across her face, Yuuki pranced in front of Zero, chocolate brown eyes shining with a mischievous glint. "Now…what were you doing with that girl?"

Zero resisted the urge to groan. Or bash his head against the nearest tree.

He _knew_ Yuuki was going to ask about that. He just knew it.

He doubted his usual indifferent look was going suffice so he simply picked up his pace in the hopes that Yuuki would expand too much energy in keeping up with him to continue her line of questioning—after all, being vertically challenged meant she had shorter legs.

* * *

Glass shattered before his slumped form, his chest heaving with desperate breathes.

Slowly, a thin trickle of red dripped from his tightly clenched fist, blossoms of crimson appearing on his skin as his wounds were exposed. His other hand was clutching at his neck with a bruising force, hard enough to leave imprints of his fingers against pale skin.

The pounding in his head was getting steadily worse, his throat raw and aching. He doubled over, a harsh gasp escaping his lips as every vein in his body seemed to be on fire, throbbing with such intensity that he saw black spots before his eyes.

_He needed…_

_Needed…_

Exhausted lavender eyes flickered over to the spilled box of tablets, each round object mocking him with his inability to accept the drug. Some had already dissolved in the puddle of water that had previously been in the glass, tainting the once clear liquid a light pink colour. A fine trembling had started in the hand that was inching toward the offending box, and all that it represented. Squeezing the box hard enough to crush it, Zero closed his eyes and exhaled a shaky breathe. Each attack ate away at his control, eroding his sanity piece by piece. Soon, there would be nothing left to hold him back from attacking innocent people…or worse, _her_.

He was quickly running out of options. And out of time.

_Red…_

_Red…like her eyes._

With reckless abandon, he dumped the remaining tablets straight into his mouth, teeth crunching down viciously. He was past caring what sort of damage that could do to his already weakened body. A normal dose of the tablets was one at a time, two if necessary, but never more than three. Even vampires had limits on how many of the blood tablets to take at one time, never mind someone like him who was in transition. But what did it matter when he was only living on borrowed time?

A second later he was choking and coughing, gasping painfully as his body once again rejected the tablets.

Relief from his bloodlust was only a fleeting dream, one that his body could not—_would _not—hold onto…and one that he didn't particularly want. After all, if he tolerated the tablets, if his body had adjusted to a blood tablet made especially for vampires…what did that mean for him? So long as his body continued to violently reject the blood tablets, Zero still had a part of humanity with him.

His body rejected the thought of consuming anything remotely related to blood.

His mind rejected the thought of becoming the very monster he so despised.

And so Kiryuu Zero rejected the blood tablets.

Because he was still human.

…and he would do anything to stay by Yuuki's side.

* * *

**AN**: Well, here's chapter five...any thoughts? Surprisingly, this chapter was much easier to write than the rest (I think my muse came out of hiding for Easter), which is why this update is relatively quick. From now on, I'll also be posting the story status along with a little preview of the next chapter on my profile, so check that out if you have time.

Special thanks to AnimeCookie93, I'm really glad that you like this fic and I hope it meets your expectations!


	6. Of Sleepy Madness and Echoes Of The Past

**Chapter Six: Of Sleepy Madness and Echoes Of The Past**

The next morning, Zero rounded the corner to find the tired female guardian weaving erratically like a drunk towards him, chocolate brown eyes all but closed and hair flat on one side and sticking messily on the other. The unfortunate crumpled mess that was her uniform left something to be desired, and he had to wonder if she had just rolled out of bed in her uniform or if she really had so much trouble putting on the standard white blouse, black jacket and short—too _short_—skirt.

…was that a bit of drool he saw?

With a soft sigh, relieved that he had found her before she could seriously hurt herself in her just-barely awake state…or stumble head-first into the fountain like she was about to do right now, Zero quickly snagged the back of Yuuki's shirt and proceeded to steer her away from any and all potential hazards.

Which wasn't quite as easy as it sounded. Yuuki, for some mysterious reason, seemed to know exactly where _not _to step and then proceeded to put up quite a fight if she felt herself being moved away from the inevitable collision course. First it was the bin that she was so intent on tripping over (Zero managed to grab her in the nick of time before her face got too close to the rubbish), then it was the bench that she found such enjoyment in smashing into (it wasn't enough to just bash herself repeatedly against the steel frame, oh no. She just had to trying pushing it out of her way, like she was capable of such a feat).

And let's not forget how she tried—and failed very, _very _miserably—to walk up a flight of stairs that _simply was not there_, completely ignoring the real stairs behind her, of course. He had watched with some amusement as she lifted one foot up, stopped it at ninety degrees (like she was actually on the first step) and then attempted to take a step with her other foot. It was no wonder that she did a strange half jump-half skip jiggling motion, seeing as there was nothing solid to support her weight, after all…all the while wobbling so precariously that Zero secretly feared for her safety.

After three failed attempts at air-walking, and after Zero was forced to reconsider how bad Yuuki's sense of balance truly was, she obviously had enough and plopped down on the ground, refusing to get up. He was beginning to think that she was doing this on purpose to annoy him, when she gave a yawn and curled up. Against. His. Legs.

And wrapped her arms around his legs like he was some kind of moving and breathing pillow.

Maybe she had taken a leaf from the crying koala-bear incident outside the boys' dorm—and was she actually _snuggling _against his legs?

Eye twitching in irritation, and nearly stumbling due to the additional weight at his feet, Zero released a long sigh before reaching down to untangle himself from Yuuki.

By the time he had managed to drag her half-asleep form across the academy grounds, prodded her up the long flight of stairs and deposited her infront of the Headmaster's office, Zero's own mood had darkened drastically. Admittedly, he himself wasn't completely free from being sleep deprived, no thanks to his little episode late last night but he resolutely pushed down that grim thought for later and slid a glance at Yuuki. At least he wasn't the one staggering around like a highly intoxicated idiot who didn't know up from down and right from left.

Wondering why he even bothered to show up at this ridiculous hour of the morning, Zero stormed angrily into the room, without bothering to knock. The loud bang of the door rebounding against the wall not only startled the figure hunched over the desk but also roused Yuuki enough for her to lurch slowly into the office.

"Yuuki, Zero! So good of you to come and see me! I assume everything is well on this wonderful day?" A beaming smile accompanied his cheerful greeting, the Headmaster swiveling his head eagerly between the two teenagers in front of him.

Zero simply glowered in response.

Things went downhill from there as Yuuki failed to greet the Headmaster, instead swaying side to side in a rather dangerous manner, which prompted Zero to steady her, lest she fell flat on her face. When she finally managed to wake up enough to mutter something that sounded like a greeting, it obviously fell short of what the Headmaster was expecting, as he once again jumped into his long, and over-used spiel.

"Yuuki! My dearest daughter, won't you indulge this poor man just once? Brighten my bleak day? Call me Daddy! Daddy!"

And then the man went off into his much practiced prancing, fluttering and dancing routine behind his desk, all the while radiating sparkles with each outrageous move.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Zero saw Yuuki blinking slowly at the spectacle that was the Headmaster and was about to not-so gently intervene into the madness, because really, enough was enough when…

"…Daaah-addy…" Yuuki mumbled, her sentence split apart with an enormous yawn that offered the occupants of the room a very generous, and not completely appreciated look of her mouth. Or rather, the occupant in the room that was currently giving her a strange look, amethyst eyes sweeping over her form, as the other was too busy crying tears of joy while alternatively using his mysteriously produced handkerchief to wipe his nose or dab at his eyes.

Zero raised an eyebrow. Yuuki must have been _really_ tired to have deferred to the Headmaster and called him 'Daddy' as the eccentric man had wanted for so long, but she had stubbornly denied him for just as long.

"Yuuki! My dear, _dear_ daughter! You make Daddy so proud!"

Without warning, the bespectacled man came flying at Yuuki, who was too out of it to notice the abomination leaping towards her. Having decided that being attacked by her adoptive father so early in the morning was the last thing she needed —or just the last thing she needed, full stop—Zero reacted quickly and drew Yuuki closer to him, out of the path of the airborne man. However, he hadn't anticipated that the Headmaster would change his course of direction (…could he even do that, mid-flight? Obviously, nothing was impossible for that man) and topple right into him.

_Glomp! Crash. _

"…"

What resulted was a human sandwich, the bread courtesy of a very unwilling Zero and the ecstatic Headmaster, the fillings a sluggish Yuuki. This was by far the strangest position Zero had found himself in, which was saying quite a lot as the Headmaster's—and to some degree, Yuuki's—level of bizarreness were on a completely different level than normally acceptable.

He had landed rather painfully on his back, with the full weight of both Yuuki and the Headmaster atop him, his arms trapped somewhere in their human sandwich of tangled limbs and his legs pinned uncomfortably on the ground. Yuuki, for her part, was still heavy-lidded and seemed to think it was her nap time, for she had burrowed her face sleepily into his jacket and closed her eyes, resting peacefully on her personal Zero-cushion. The Headmaster was a completely different story, as he was flailing and wriggling dramatically, apparently thinking that a hug was still possible in their current position, while weeping unabashedly onto Zero, who had the utter misfortune of being in the way of the Headmaster's tears. To his great consternation, his troubles didn't just end there. Of course _not_.

The handkerchief fluttered down to cover his face.

His jaw clenched. Trying, and failing miserably, to ignore the soggy wetness (and god knew what else) of the material clinging to his face, he slowly counted to ten, reminding himself that Yuuki was still in-between them and would get caught in the cross-fire if he gave into the urge to strangle the annoying pest of a Headmaster…that was, if he could even free a hand to actually do the strangling.

Long seconds passed in a frigid atmosphere, with Zero completely still, Yuuki sleeping contently and the Headmaster prattling on incessantly, completely oblivious to the murderous intent of one extremely incensed silver-haired boy.

Zero was certain that he had felt something break in his fall. Maybe it was his back. Or his sanity.

"Get off, you crazy—"

Apparently, it was his tenuous hold on his violate temper. Unfortunately, his growled words were easily lost amidst the Headmaster's renewed blubbering.

"I'm so…hic!...proud! My little girl!" And there went the fountain of tears again.

Fortunately for the Headmaster, Zero was having too much trouble extracting his arms to retaliate against the latest waterfall dripping all over his face. At least the handkerchief soaked up some of the liquid. Sort of.

When the sobbing mess otherwise known as the Headmaster had calmed down sufficiently to be able to speak and to remove his death-grip on the two guardians, it wasn't a moment too soon for Zero's tolerance of said Headmaster's crazy antics had completely dissipated—along with his non-existent control over his temper. Forget strangling the man, he had already crossed into the brutal maiming-slash-prolonged torture territory.

"Mm?" Without the additional weight of the Headmaster on her, Yuuki must have been disturbed from her sleep, and rolled over sleepily. "…five more minutes?"

Well, as much as she could roll over, considering that she was haphazardly lying on Zero's body. Of which he was very much aware of. In fact, he was too aware of just how soft her body was, or the way her curves…

Scowling harshly, Zero hastily cut off the thought before it could progress further. Finally able to move his hands again, he quickly plucked the handkerchief off his face in extreme disgust, and returned the favor by tossing the soggy material straight at the Headmaster's face.

"That wasn't very nice, Zero," The Headmaster murmured, in a slightly affronted tone as he watched the balled up handkerchief flop dejectedly to the floor.

"What. Do. You. Want." Zero growled through clenched teeth, picking himself off the floor for the second time in so much as a few days, being mindful of his additional cargo. His right arm was wrapped around Yuuki's waist, supporting her as he straightened up. In fact, she wasn't so much as being supported by Zero as completely leaning on him for balance, having decided that napping upright was acceptable.

Defiantly glaring at the Headmaster, lavender eyes flashing with the promise of a quick death if he dared him to say anything about their current position, Zero studiously ignored the growing warmth at his side and felt the last of his patience ebbing away as the man oh-so-slowly climbed to his feet.

The pony-tailed man adjusted his glasses, an unusually serious expression settling on his features, honey-coloured eyes narrowed. Zero didn't miss how the Headmaster's gaze lingered on him longer than was necessary before he retraced his steps to his desk, and turned to face the two guardians.

"Now, I'm aware that your mid-semester exams are coming up, and usually I would cover your patrols so that you can study. However, I'm going out of town for an important meeting," he paused and looked thoughtfully at the silver-haired guardian, "so unfortunately, you two will have to continue your nightly patrols during exam period. Of course, I will not leave my dearest daughter and son without help!" He then opened a drawer and began rummaging through it, apparently searching for something—but having very little success in finding it. "…now where is it?" Absently mumbling to himself, the Headmaster continued to dig through his drawer. "…I knew it was here…"

Zero felt his irritation rise another notch, if that was possible. It was evident that the Headmaster was hinting at something, and combined with his not so subtle glances at Zero, it was obviously something that related to him. But what?

Amethyst eyes hardened. He was tired, cranky and quickly becoming very pissed off as he watched the Headmaster make a mess of his office, pieces of paper flying everywhere and the occasional pencil and pen dropping out. He was absolutely not in the mood for another of the Headmaster's crazy antics and opened his mouth to sharply interrupt, when a triumphant 'aha!' sounded from the Headmaster. The hail of fluttering paper and whatnot suddenly stopped as the blonde man emerged, waving a piece of paper wildly in his hand.

"If you get into any trouble or need help, just call this number and my acquaintance will come and assist you." The Headmaster beamed widely and then all but shoved his hand in Zero's face, making the silver-haired boy recoil in surprise and distaste.

Scoffing at the older man's change of attitude, Zero stared suspiciously at the pro-offered slip of paper right under his nose before abruptly snatching it. When the hand infront of his face was too slow to withdraw, he impatiently smacked the offending limb away, and quickly scanned the details. His eyes widened upon seeing the name scribbled in the Headmaster's terrible handwriting.

It was a name that he hadn't thought of in a long, long while.

Not since four years ago.

Not since his family's murder.

* * *

"_Focus. Regulate your breathing, always keep your eye on the target."_

_The young silver-haired boy nodded, hands trembling ever-so slightly as he positioned himself, gripping the gun the way his master had taught him. _

_He stepped back, watching as the boy took another moment to focus his aim. _

_A single shot pierced through the clearing, and somewhere nearby a bird took off in fright, cawing loudly as it disappeared over the trees. _

"_Shishou?" Large eyes blinked eagerly up at the man, and he couldn't help giving a grunt of approval, single eye critically inspecting the hole on the target. _

_Dead centre. _

_He had impeccable aim, even for someone of his age, and with so little training. His lone eye crinkled, a smirk coming to his lips as he ruffled his student's hair, ignoring how the silver-haired boy yelped and tried to dodge away._

"_Practice your aim and speed. When I come back, I expect you to aim and fire within a few seconds." Yagari Toga took one last look at his young student, taking in the shining amethyst eyes and the barely held-in smile as the silver-haired boy nodded eagerly, before walking away. _

"_You won't be disappointed, Shishou," Zero earnestly said, a determined look crossing his face. _

_And he knew he wouldn't be. Even by vampire hunter standards, Yagari knew that his student had an impressive grasp on the basic training, and an even more remarkable set of skills to back up his Kiryuu heritage. Maybe the curse of the Hunter Twins had skipped his exceptionally bright student, Yagari mused. There was hope yet that Zero would not fall victim to the bleak, despairing future of twins born into a vampire hunter family. His exit was accompanied by the sound of a sharp, metallic bang as Zero diligently went back to his training._

_…but he never did get to see how far his student had improved in his absence. When he came back, it was to an abandoned, blood-stained Kiryuu home, devoid of all life—and with no trace of his young apprentice. _

_How wrong he had been. How very, _very_ wrong he had been. _

* * *

**AN: **Thanks once again to all the reviews, favourites and alerts—I really appreciate and value your support! They are a huge source of motivation for me, especially when I'm stuck on a scene, not to mention the warm fuzzy feeling I get each time I see a new review/favourite/alert in my inbox.

Just a quick note, 'shishou' means master in Japanese. I actually picked up that term when I was watching Naruto, as Sakura referred to Tsunade as 'Shishou' while training under her. I like to keep the Japanese honorifics when writing fics and other little bits and pieces, such as Yuuki referring to Kaname as 'Kaname-senpai' and Kaname calling Zero 'Kiryuu-kun' in Chapter Three…in fact, I should have mentioned that earlier, so apologies for this late explanation!

And to answer your question, thecoldforest, yes this is going to be a Zeki fic, simply because I just can't imagine Zero with anyone but Yuuki, and vice versa. I think there are probably 101 reasons why Zero and Yuuki absolutely belong together, and hopefully I can expand on some of the reasons in this fic.


	7. Of Realisations and Shattered Dreams

**Chapter Seven: Of Unexpected Trips and Shattered Dreams**

"Aa-aa-achoo!"

A loud clattering noise, followed by a muffled yelp and a rather painful sounding _thump _broke through his thoughts, effectively dispersing any lingering memories of a past long gone. Kiryuu Zero blinked once before glancing beside him, where a _certain _someone was supposed to be, but was obviously not there. He came to a stop amidst the crowded sidewalk, not caring in the slightest that several harried-looking people had nearly crashed into him before skidding to a stop. As it was, his famed icy glare was more than enough to motivate them to disappear into the mass of moving bodies.

Zero looked behind him, slight exasperation visible in his eyes as he found the source of all the ruckus. Not that he was expecting anything less—after all, trouble followed her more closely than her own shadow. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he retraced his steps, offhandedly wondering if it was a good or bad thing that he was no longer surprised by any of her antics.

Heads turned, as fellow pedestrians slowed to observe the strange spectacle that was Kurosu Yuuki, who had managed to sneeze herself onto the ground, her obvious lack of balance very apparent and her non-existent grace even more so.

"Hehe…" Yuuki embarrassedly scratched her head, a furious blush creeping its way up her face as she saw the many baffled expressions that were being directed at her, no doubt wondering what she was doing sitting on the cold ground like that. Unfortunately, it slipped her mind that simply getting up would put an end to some of the curious looks thrown her way. However, one gaze, different from the rest, landed on her and Yuuki instantly felt a chill run down her spine, completely unrelated to the cold evening or freezing ground below her. "Eek!" Her sixth sense, or her Kiryuu Zero mental detector, as she liked to call it, tingled and gulping slightly, Yuuki raised her eyes.

A pair of intense amethyst eyes stared back at her as his tall, lean form loomed over her sprawled figure. "That sneeze sure packed a punch…" She let out a nervous laugh and was met with his usual blank look. There was no outward expression of anger on his finely sculptured features, but it was the crease between his eyebrows, the slight tightness of his jaw that alerted Yuuki to the fact that Zero's patience was slowly running out.

Unfortunately, it was with good reason, seeing as Yuuki had turned a quick trip to town to buy the necessary grocery into a full day shopping trip. In the cold. And on the busiest day possible in the town. There was a carnival of some sorts that had rolled through the normally quiet town, turning it into a beehive of activity and milling mass of people. Food stalls and stands littered the streets, the mouth-watering smell of cooked foods mixing in the air as children ran about, darting this way and that, with anxious parents in tow, worried that their child would be swallowed up in the throng of people.

She hadn't been able to resist the colourful lanterns, the cheerful decorations and signs, the wide variety of stores and the general carefree, happy atmosphere of the townfolk and had dragged Zero after her, zigzagging across the street from vendor to vendor, eyes sparkling at each new thing she encountered. She had begged, whined and pleaded until Zero finally relented and gave her some money to spend on the stores.

In fact, she was mildly surprised that Zero was still with her.

Although he had been strangely distant throughout her examination of the carnival, a faraway look in his despondent eyes, grunting absently when she prodded him for answers and uncharacteristically compliant to be dragged around, Yuuki sensed that this distance wasn't the same as the one he had displayed during their nightly patrols, and that he was simply deep in thought, which wasn't that rare for Zero.

But what was strange was the way in which he had stared at the parents, who were watching their children with a careful eye but laughing and smiling all the same. Then his gaze had drifted onto the running children, a sombre and almost wistful look entering his eyes, his pale face even paler under the flickering light from the lanterns, shadows dancing across his features.

His expression then, had hit Yuuki like a punch to the stomach, and she bit her lip, a slender hand clutched in front of her chest. She didn't know if she should say something to break his melancholy or if it was better to give him privacy, as she knew he closely guarded his emotions and didn't want to intrude on something so obviously personal.

He looked so lost, pale features infinitely sad and lonely, but so completely and utterly vulnerable that her own eyes had began to prick with tears at the truly heartbreaking sight of her normally strong, silent Zero wearing such an expression. It was a look that she had never seen on him…and never wanted to see again.

She watched Zero as he watched the children skipping back to their parents, excitement on their faces as they dragged the adults to and fro, pointing and laughing at everything they saw. Could it be…

The decision was taken out of her hands when he gave a quick shake of his head, silver strands flying wildly, before seeming to feel her gaze on him. If he'd noticed her hurried swipe at her cheeks, he didn't comment. Yuuki gave him a little smile, trying to comfort him with what words couldn't express, and all the while wondering if he'd blow up at her or ignore her for seeing his slip in emotions.

But Zero did neither. Instead, he closed the distance between them, his footsteps muffled by the ever-flowing trail of conversation and babble around them. Step by step, he drew closer. Nearer and nearer, until they were almost touching and she could smell a hint of Zero's unique scent, a mixture of the soap he used and something else that was entirely Zero. He came to a complete stop before her and…did nothing, simply looking down at her with those impassive eyes.

Yuuki waited with bated breathe, heart thumping furiously in her chest, her eyes irrevocably drawn to his amethyst orbs, obscured but not quite hidden by strands of his silver hair. He was tall, she suddenly realised, having to tilt her head up to maintain eye contact. Not quite tall, dark and handsome, but having two out of three wasn't bad either, her mind quipped helpfully as Yuuki forcibly squashed the thought down. Besides, in her opinion, that phrase was just overrated.

Of course she'd known that he was tall—after all, he did take an unusual amount of pleasure in pointing out the difference between their heights—but when had her gangly, awkward teen of a best friend turned into this handsome, cold _man _before her? Someone once said that you don't notice the changes of the people closest to you because they're always by your side, _every step of the way_ and right now, Yuuki couldn't agree more.

Zero was her precious person, the one that she would go to great lengths for and not expect anything in return, the one person that she would always wish to be happy and safe and as of late, the one person to constantly haunt her thoughts, never giving her a reprieve, even during her dreams.

He was fiercely protective—overly so, especially against a particular Pureblood, quiet and caring in his own misguided way, stubbornly loyal to a fault (or just plain stubborn, depending on how you look at it) but also gruff, impatient and completely unpredictable at times. More importantly, he had truly been by her side all this time, whether it was trailing grudging behind her, impassively walking next to her or stomping angrily before her, Zero had always just been there. His presence alone was enough to add that extra little skip to her step, for her to smile that bit wider and for that tender, loving look—the one that she reserved only for him, even if Yuuki herself was unaware of this—to materialise in her expressive brown eyes.

She had come to rely upon his silent strength more than she had realised, viewed him as a solid, reliable constant in her life and trusted him implicitly—more than anyone else in her life, even though there were parts of his life that she didn't know, that he was unable to tell her. She didn't mind that there were some parts of Zero that he kept to himself, after all, everyone had their own little secrets and she didn't want to pry, preferring that Zero told her in his own time rather than being forced to reveal something he wasn't ready for. In fact, if Zero had uncharacteristically opened up to her about his past and started to babble incessantly (as she herself was wont to do) when he barely spoke to her on a good day, she'd greatly fear for his sanity.

She wanted to be acknowledged and to acknowledge him in turn, as evidence that she still had a life after being rescued that winter's night. That, even if she had no recollection of her past and any memories whatsoever, she still had a present and future with Zero. She knew how lonely it could get, how depressing it was to be just by yourself and have that empty, bottomless feeling swell up upon seeing other children with their family, their parents and siblings, or a group of laughing children playing together. So she wanted to provide the minuscule amount of support that she was able to, to let Zero know that she shared the same pain, even if he didn't fully appreciate her efforts and found her annoying more often than not.

Embarrassingly, she had also idolised Zero when he had first arrived on their doorstep. Young as she was, Yuuki had clearly recognised the deep hurt and pain that the silver-haired boy had been silently suffering. To her eleven-year self, he had been the epitome of a strong person, both in mind and body, and his striking features certainly hadn't helped. In fact, it sent her prepubescent heart fluttering wildly each time those cold, bleak eyes glared at her or when the silver-haired boy had given her his full attention.

That crush had only gotten worse over time, and to her confused mind—who had a crush on both Kuran Kaname, the perfect prince and her literal saviour, and Kiryuu Zero, her constant companion and sort-of friend—it meant that Yuuki was constantly and unconsciously comparing the two together. Because she rarely interacted with Kaname before attending Kurosu Academy, only seeing him when he dropped by for a visit or for holidays, she simply didn't have enough information and knowledge to base her thoughts and feelings of Kaname upon. Where else, Zero was always nearby and available (even if he was unwilling and often quite rude and abrupt with her), and as such, she had much more to go upon.

He was strong, determined (or infuriatingly stubborn, in Yuuki's opinion) and excelled in whatever he did (hence why all the studying lessons, particularly in maths, that he gave her)…of course, that was assuming he applied himself to schoolwork instead of sleeping the lessons away. He was also reliable and had a strong sense of responsibility, often glaring at her for trying to help him with his job—which Yuuki didn't appreciate, mind you—and had a moral compass so straight that Yuuki sometimes wondered if he really was a teenage boy, or just a sad excuse of an alien.

When she really felt the split, the beginning of the break in the relationship between Kaname and her was witnessing that horrifying scene of Kaname leaning over Ruka, blood glistening on his elongated fangs and smearing his lower face, eyes glowing an eerie red in the dark room. She had known that they were vampires, that the Night Class were of a different species, a species that hunted and killed humans without a second thought, but to actually see that brutal truth for herself, to be numbed with shock, fear and repulsion as that ruby red liquid dripped down his chin…that was an entirely different matter.

Ever since that night, she could not help but wonder that if her previously perfect prince, calm and refined in every aspect, seemingly gentle and warm, had harboured such a different and opposite side to him…what else didn't she know about Kuran Kaname? She had thought the whole purpose of the blood tablets was to stop the vampires from attacking humans for their blood, that it was a tempered-down source of respite for their lust. But if Kaname so readily drank the blood of Ruka despite knowing that his word was law to the other vampires regardless of their own will, then what was to stop him from drinking the blood of an innocent human…or two, or three?

Horrible images had circled her mind ever since that night, haunting her with their intensity but what really shook her, terrified Yuuki so much was the mere thought of the 'bad vampires' as the Headmaster had aptly dubbed, coming back to finish their job, to finally kill her precious silver-haired boy. After that realisation, Zero must have thought she was crazy (even more than usual), following him around everywhere and utterly failing in concealing her presence when doing so.

She hadn't known what she could have done to protect her friend, or even if she could do anything at all, more likely she would became a liability, but Yuuki had wanted to be close to Zero, to make sure with her own eyes that he was safe. It had gotten to the point that the silver-haired boy had finally snapped and rounded on Yuuki, furiously demanding to know why she had been trailing after him like a suspicious idiot on crack…well, not exactly the words Zero used, but Yuuki understood what he had been trying to say.

She had turned into a blubbering mess then, mumbling incoherently and spewing out disjointed words that made no sense whatsoever. Zero had waited until she had her emotions under control before gruffly asking her why she was crying a waterfall while wearing such strange clothes. In her defence, the clothes she wore were meant to better conceal her but obviously had the exact opposite effect. This had him raising an eyebrow in incredulity but he stayed silent and let her continue.

His eyes had softened upon hearing her whispered response and in a move so uncharacteristic of him, Zero had awkwardly gathered her in a hug, arms encircling her shoulders stiffly. She had cried then, not only for herself but for the realisation that her childhood dream and admiration of the Pureblood, which she had been carrying ever since Kaname had saved her from that vampire, had completely and irrevocably shattered, leaving her with fragments of the time spent with Kaname but ultimately broken and unrepairable.

Yuuki had pressed herself against his slim chest, not yet muscled but giving her the sense of security all the same, as the tears continued to fall, great gasping sobs escaping her. His arms had tightened around her, loosening some of his tension and rigidity, and she had felt safe and protected in his arms. And if during her crying session, if Yuuki felt a feather-light touch on top of her head, so quickly that she wondered if it really occurred or not, then she remained silent on this matter, for she knew the implications of this single action would be earth-shattering for her…and for a silver-haired boy.

After she had cried herself to near exhaustion, and Zero was becoming stiffer and stiffer, the two of them had disentangled, red adorning both their faces as realisation of what had happened set in. The incident wasn't mentioned again, and both teens pretended that it never had happened, or at least Zero did, and Yuuki only followed his lead, seeing as she was too embarrassed and uncertain about what really had happened to bring up the topic again.

It had been quite a while before she could look Kaname in the eye without flinching or remembering his blood-stained visage and the raw satisfaction glowing in those eerie red eyes. She would forever remember his face, so pale but etched with pleasure and fulfilment, eyes glittering with emotions that she would never understand, red trails ominously making its way down his chin, and those long, sharp fangs, coated with the ruby red liquid that was as important to her as a human, as it was important to a vampire. To Kaname.

That day, she silently said good-bye to Kuran Kaname and fully welcomed one silver-haired, amethyst-eyed boy into her heart, of which he had already occupied a sizable space.

"_Don't be sad. I'm here with you."_

In the distance, fireworks went off in the sky, great big flowers that exploded against the night sky, showering the occupants below with their spectacular array of colours and flashes of light.

Startled out of her thoughts by the noise, Yuuki jerked erratically and instantly bumped into Zero, nearly forgetting that they had been standing so close before she had been lost in her thoughts.

For his part, Zero seemed unamused at her sudden jerk, his eyes stern and contemplating as he stared down at her. He looked away first, briefly closing his eyes so that his beautiful pools of pale lavender disappeared from view. A short silence followed, as Yuuki wondered if that had truly been a flicker of hurt in his eyes or if it had just been the lights dancing across his pale features. Before Yuuki could open her mouth to correct him at what her sudden action might have looked like, almost as if she was flinching away from him, his eyes opened again, and he was suddenly leaning impossibly closer to her. His hand rose, moving as if to caress her cheek but abruptly stopped in mid-air, a strange light entering his hooded amethyst eyes as the corner of his lips pulled down.

"Don't look like that," Zero muttered, his fingers dropping away a mere inch from her face. "Don't be sad."

That had been the end of their trip into town, but Yuuki hadn't missed the way his eyes had narrowed pensively after the words had left his mouth, as if he too was remembering when he had once said the same thing in the past.

Yuuki wondered if he also recalled the soft kiss he had pressed atop her head when he held her in his arms, cradling her protectively against his chest as he had uttered that promise four years ago.

A promise that he had unfailing kept to this day.

* * *

**AN: **I'm still alive, I swear! Or at least I think I am, after the shocking end to VK manga. I seriously think that drained all my hopes for a happy ending (or at least semi-happy ending, seeing as VK isn't exactly all roses and sunshine). And poor Zero!…but no excuses, I really am sorry for not updating. After reading the manga, this chapter just didn't turn out how it was supposed to, how I had planned it before finishing VK, so please excuse the text-heavy soul-searching in this chapter (that was probably brought along by all the angst), but otherwise, feel free to leave me a review or comment.

I really appreciate all your support, favs, alerts and wonderful reviews, it really keeps me going—especially when Hino drops bombshells on us and then ends the manga!—so thank you!


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